A diverse ad hoc collection of the author's views on a diverse range of subjects including but not limited to The Abiding Christian, Christianity, Education, Current Affairs, Creative Writing and Poetry.

Tuesday, 31 August 2010

When I was in school, teachers took great pleasure handing out an “F” to students caught cheating and furthermore had no compunction letting their other classmates know about it. Well maybe there is more truth to the saying “it takes one to know one” than we previously thought. Maybe they are so good at detecting students cheating because they are cheats themselves? Aren’t School Principals and Teachers supposed to be role models and set standards to those who look up to them for guidance and instruction?

It seems Teachers are only too happy to give a damming assessment (following an exam) of a student(s), which could see them in Struggle Street for the rest of their lives. Yet the Teachers and/or Schools don’t want a True and Fair Assessment of their abilities to impart their knowledge and/or teach our children. I find it deplorable that so many schools and teachers have resorted to cheating in the NAPLAN TESTING and in some cases conspired with accomplices or asked for some students not to attend during the tests. And all for the purpose of giving a Teacher and/or School a HIGHER GRADE THAN THEY DISERVE and MORE FUNDING TO DO OBVIOUSLY INFERIOR WORK. I’m afraid I do not tolerate cheats very well, however, TOLERATE HYPOCRITES EVEN LESS!

“Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents.” Matthew chapter 25 verse 28.

They by their own judgement (by resorting to cheating) are not worthy of holding their positions. Neither are they worthy of receiving additional funding for doing inferior work. Nor should our children be exposed to their deceitful ways and practices.

Thursday, 26 August 2010

Great Teacher’s command the respect of their students, but they never demand it. Like any good tradesperson, they make what they do to those around them seem like Childs play. They never try to “force feed” their pupils, merely have the ability to impart their knowledge by way of captivating their students attention, making the material/subject interesting and the lesson rewarding thereby fulfilling the newly created desire to know more about it. Disruptive and unruly behaviour by students by and large shouldn’t be seen as a problem student, but rather as a symptom of something fundamentally being wrong in the classroom. Interesting word that, fund-a-mental. It is all too easy to blame someone else, than to admit we are doing something wrong ourselves.

Many Teachers’ call themselves so, but the recognition of their ability lies in the opinion of their students. One example of what I mean is Jesus Christ. How many times did he refer to himself as a Teacher? Yet, how many of his followers referred to him as such? Another example of more recent times is the late Professor Julius Sumner Miller. He was ridiculed by his peers as a crackpot, yet was adored by many for making an otherwise unattractive subject of physics interesting and fun. He didn’t insult the intelligence of his students by trying to tell them anything, but rather relied on them to tell him “why is it so”. Similarly Christ spoke to those without his understanding in parables (riddles) and left it to his audience to figure it out for themselves.

This concept of how bring people around to your way of thinking is largely the basis of Dale Carnegie’s book/philosophy “How To Win Friends And Influence People” which basically teaches that the best way to get people to agree with you is to let them think they thought of the answer themselves. Think of the proposition as the “seed” and the answer as the “harvest”. Or in a biblical sense, one person sows (plants the seed) and another reaps (harvests the crop). All True Teachers have this ability, but sadly many are left wanting. It is so easy to be so sure about something that we fall into the trap of trying to tell the whole world about it, only to become disenchanted and frustrated that nobody will accept what we have to say. There we are shouting it from the rooftops and everybody is standing around with their fingers in their ears. What was forgotten was the process by which we ourselves became so enchanted with it in the first place. Our enthusiasm was born from the discovery or unveiling of what previously was a mystery or unknown.

In closing I would like to quote the late Professor Julius Sumner Miller who said "The hope I have here is simply summed up: To stir your imagination, awaken your interest, arouse your curiosity, enliven your spirit - all with the purpose of bringing you to ask, as young Maxwell put it, "What's the go of it?" - or, as Kepler had it, "why things are as they are and not otherwise". Or, more simply in my own phrase, why is it so?"

We will all have many Teachers throughout our lives and they are those who teach us to seek and find the answers rather than trying to give them to us without establishing a good foundation.

Your Excellency,Redirecting votes to the unintended recipient is hardly a fair and equal electoral system. A Federal Election is supposed to be “A Popularity Contest” and the result should closely resemble the “wishes of the people” rather than “a magician’s trick” using slide of hand and deception. Why then is the possible outcome (based on 2 party preferred counting of votes) arriving at a contrary conclusion to the popular wishes of the Nation?

Senator Bob Brown through his entire electoral campaigning for the GREENS seduced voters to vote GREEN as an alternative to voting for either ALP or Liberal/National. When Mark Latham advised people to lodge “Blank Ballots” as a protest vote against both ALP and Liberal/National. Senator Bob Brown then used that opportunity to advise voters “Mark Latham is giving 2nd rate advise to people in advising them to leave their ballot blank, if you don’t wish to vote for ALP or Liberal/National then vote for the GREENS”. Senator Bob Brown knew full well that GREEN preferences (by and large) would flow-on to the ALP. Had those people’s protest votes been lodged as being blank, then ALP wouldn’t have received any votes via slide of hand.

As Senator Bob Brown openly promoted the election as a 3 Corner Contest and furthermore that a vote for the GREENS was an “alternative choice” to voting for either the ALP or the Coalition, preferences of GREEN votes should not be distributed to either the ALP or the Coalition. People voting for the GREENS “clearly didn’t want to vote for either of the 2 major parties” and so the only fair way to count the votes of the election is on a 3 Party Preferred basis. Counting on a 2 Party Preferred basis is ensuring a DISTORTED OUTCOME and doesn’t TRULY REFLECT THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE.

Based on primary votes alone, the “will of the people” was clearly for Tony Abbott MHP and the Coalition to form the Next Federal Government of Australia. On 1 vote 1 value the Coalition would currently have a 5-6-seat majority. Also Senate seats shouldn’t be distributed until all primary votes are tallied.

Maybe it is time for Australia to move to a “less ambiguous” voting system where a vote carries only “one outcome” rather than endless permutations? It would also save the taxpayer’s a lot of money counting preferences for weeks on end at great expense to the Nation.

Friday, 20 August 2010

I am gathering a vast amount of evidence about this conspiracy to stymie (GAG) public debate about the ALP, GREENS and others assisting them in this "War on Freedom of Speech" in public social networking/media sites.

Please leave comments ESPECIALLY if you have had similar experiences of your comments being blocked on sites such as Twitter.

Thursday, 19 August 2010

That which one besets is usually begotten also.
For what you are within is without you and what is not within you you're without.
If you lost your Love, isn't that what happened?
If you've never been in Love, why not?
And if you'll never Love again, enjoy what's left of your lonely life ahead of you.
Sure you may have other partners, but are you really together and/or happy, if your Hearts are not intertwined?

You see, Love only starts, when in the beginning you spawn,
your feelings in words...for who gladdens your Heart...
It comes home to roost, when received by that one,
and fastens a bond, that can’t be undone…

Friday, 13 August 2010

Has anyone noticed how many twitter accounts Julia Gillard is following in comparison to Tony Abbott? Tony has 18,178 followers and is following 20. Julia Gillard has 39,925 followers and is following 24,946 (numbers correct at time of posting this article). Isn’t Julia “supposed” to be running the country? Yet has so much time on her hands that she can follow so many twitterers. How very civically minded she is.I joined Twitter only a few days ago in order to have my views heard by the Australian Voters before they decide who to vote for at the up-coming election in September 2010. Within minutes of sending my first tweet on Twitter (which had a link to my blog) low and behold Julia Gillard appeared as my very first follower on Twitter. At the time I was suitably impressed, but lately have discovered that none of my now 11 tweets can be found on Twitter. It now seems certain that the ALP are intercepting and deleting tweets that they do not approve of people/voters “being allowed” to view.

Thursday, 12 August 2010

The latest propaganda the ALP are spreading in an effort to get re-elected in 2010 is an insult to the intelligence of Australian Voters. They’re at war with the Liberal Party to win the fight to govern Australia and as anyone knows the “first victim of war is THE TRUTH”. They would have the voters believe that the Liberal’s proposed tax on larger companies to fund maternity leave commitments will drive up prices we will pay for goods and services. Yet they somehow expect us to believe that their 3% increase to employer funded superannuation will be absorbed by the employer(s)/shareholder(s). Furthermore, that a “Big New Tax” on Coal & Iron-ore will not diminish dividends to shareholders (mostly super funds) or conversely drive up prices locally for everything that uses Coal, Iron & Steel in its manufacture and a flow-on effect to everything and everyone that uses them.

Tuesday, 10 August 2010

Julia Gillard’s LABOR PARTY (in Australian English spelt LABOUR), as with all previously led LABOR PARTY’S again fail the LAB TEST (LAB = Liars and Backstabbers). They seem to invariably subscribe to the notion “if you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit”. Watching LABOR “supposedly” answering questions in Question Time (in either house) is more like watching Buffoons who turn it into a sideshow or circus act. If LABOR truly believes in equal pay for equal work, then their pay should be reduced accordingly, as I’m sure Clowns and Comedians are not on 6 figure salaries. P.s. If a “spell checker” set to “Australian English” detects “Labor” as a mistake, then hopefully voters will come to the same conclusion prior to polling day 2010.

Monday, 9 August 2010

Being a newbie to blogging, it is very refreshing to read Bianca Raven's posts as I embark on my research on what to do and what to not, when it comes to how to present and conduct myself as a freelance writer/blogger. It is encouraging to read that ethics counts for something in this day and age. Having been labelled as being atavistic by a former staff member, I find it difficult fitting in to this dog eat dog world where standards have fallen to the point where "none" is considered a high achievement. I will continue to visit and read Bianca's posts as they have emboldened me to participate where I have been reluctant to do so in the past.

Thursday, 5 August 2010

How can anybody be killed in an accident?If it was an accident then they died, they were not killed.For some inexplicable reason reporters and/or newsreaders seem to think the words “died” and “killed” are synonymous. Otherwise they are substituting one for the other in order to sensationalise the story at the expense accurate journalism/reporting and the integrity of the English Language.People die of natural causes and also in accidents and are killed in wars and by murderers and assassins.

P.s. I wouldn't consider a "Drink Driver" as being vilified when reporting anyone dying as a result as being "killed".

Sunday, 1 August 2010

Imployed, imployer, imployee and imployment are some of Julia Gillard's contributions to illiteracy in Australia. The fact she has never married, maybe we should address her as “Miss Pronunciation”? "Moving Forward" Julia, they should be pronounced employed, employer, employee and employment. Julia you are the Prime Minster of Australia and the former Minister for Education and should be setting a better example to Australia’s impressionable youth. Frequently mispronounced words cause difficulties for children/people trying to learn English and also spelling difficulties.

Offen/ofden, if a person can't say often then they should try saying frequently instead. Other examples are (but not limited to); darnce, darnced, darncing, charnce, charnced, plarnt, plarnting and plarnted. Why do people add an "r" when there isn't one? Is it their feeble attempt to sound sophisticated or important? I think rather that it is a sad indictment of their lack of consideration for other people endeavouring to learn the English language. I do not criticize everyone who mispronounce words, however I think Newsreaders, Reporters, Politicians and Hosts of Children’s Shows especially should be setting better examples.